Genealogy Chat

hi im helping a relative find his long lost family hasnt seen them for 50 ish years he was in a childrens home in east london in the 50's i know the homes arent around anymore cant seem to find any refernce anywere to any off his homes he was in i have checked with barnordos what should i check next? any suggestions were to find his birth details (born1949) mothers details fathers details etc? any help would be great only just started doing this for him and already stuck thanks for reading this caz

Karon His birth (assuming his name wasn't changed) should be in the GRO indexes. As you have an exact year (though if his birthday was in Dec he might have been registered 1950) it wouldn't be too expensive to find it on www*1837online*com [replace * with .] Alternatively, the indexes are searchable on microfiche free at various libraries and records offices, as well as in the big books at the Family Records Centre in London. As to the home - have you tried looking for its records on http://www.a2a.org.uk/ This website is like an index to documents held in records offices and archives all over the country. You could try searching on the name of the home(s) first. Good luck nell

If you know the area where the home was, contact social services. I was searching for a cottage home in Kent and googled Kent SS. It took about 4 different phone calls but I was directed to their archives. Depending on the area, they may do a free search of records. They will certainly have names of homes in the area at the time. Also he could ask to see his records from SS and that is free. They will hold all sorts of details for him but can be painful to read.

There are several ways I can think of. But it depends on what is known. The local athoretys of the area were the home was, socel servises, Googal the name of the home/s, put a bit in contact pages for the last known area of family, (if your reele was adopted) the adoption agentcy, or an Add in the local papers. If the fostering was done by an agency they should still hold records. Remember your relle has a legal right to know his past. You could also try some trace sites,Sally army and Citezens advice to give you more leads.

hi in answer to the questions i had to check first with this person about personal details anyway im on here helping my dad yes he's still alive he knows off his mother sadly decesed now but not of any other family i have names to search but cant find anything the names are mary ann alwinkle/alcock (maiden name) mary ann prosser(possible married name) and arthur/edward prosser possibley married to the above thanks for you help im gonna ring S.S see if the files are still available on him then ill ring him and tell them what they say thanks for your help im still not getting very far tho! caz

hi karon,have a look at www(.)careleaversreunited(.)com,remove the brackets. or the careleavers association,you may well find details of the care home your looking for there. hope this helps. debs